The gift
by Set
Summary: Eight years after the events of a new generation the kids decide to pay their friends a special visit. First 80's cartoon fic and probably only care bear fic unless I get the urge again please read and review negative feedback is okay


Obviously I don't own the rights to any characters in this story as they are owned by whatever company they are owned by, I don't remember. This is a *somewhat* original story written by me.  
  
Chapter 1: Remembrance  
  
Eight years had passed since John, Dawn, Christy, and Dirk had went to summer camp. Now it was the summer before they would leave for college and the four decided to visit the spot where they solidified their friendship. They all knew that soon they would separate and attend different universities. The very thought of leaving each other was never fully expressed as it would be far to hard to deal with. Since becoming friends they had supported each other through the high school years. Only Dirk was gifted enough to join any sports teams, but he instead chose to stay with the people who had taught him a very important lesson, how to be human.  
  
Looking over the lake at the solitary cabin was not easy for Dirk, as memories of past event haunted him.  
  
"You going to be okay? Christy asked  
  
"I should be, but it's not easy when I remember the person I used to be"  
  
"Your not that person anymore Dirk. You've done and learned things that never would have ococcurredf you were still…him"  
  
"Still Darkheart?" Dirk asked looking at the ground  
  
"Yes, still Darkheart" Christy said as she grabbed his hand.  
  
Dawn tired to liven up the moment "Dirk, look at it this way, if you were never darkheart we never would have met you"  
  
"Or the care bears and care cousins" John said "and that's the reason why we are here, to thank them for bringing us together"  
  
"But" Christy said "how will the know we are here?"  
  
"They'll know, they just have to" Dawn said  
  
The sun was setting and it's golden rays shone over the lake making it glisten like diamonds.  
  
"We'd better set up camp before it gets to dark" Dirk suggested.  
  
After some more chatting the four called it a night. Only Christy stayed up and wondered 'How will they know?'. With that she fell asleep never aware of the little star buddy who watched over the camp. It flew into the night towards its destination, Care-a-lot.  
  
Chapter Two: Announcement  
  
The star buddy flew towards the clouds and soon was in perfect view of the kingdom of caring. The castle where the bears and their cousins were raised stood tall and proud, as it always had. Care-a-lot, where the bears resided soon after maturing stayed the same. The street was still one giant rainbow adorned with peppermint striped poles on the sides. The heart shaped tree's signified that one was about to enter the lush forest of feelings, home of the care cousins. In the middle of the kingdom stood the hall of hearts where the family met daily to discuss the amount of care the world had. It was in the hall of hearts that the little star buddy flew to give its news.  
  
Inside sat all the members of the family. They were having a meeting but as of late had very little to discuss.  
  
"We should be happy that the earth doesn't need our help, it shows that humans are learning to care" said Tenderheart Bear.  
  
"But what do we do in the meantime? It's almost like we aren't needed anymore" replied Grumpy Bear.  
  
"Grumpy is right" Lotsa-Heart-Elephant said "ever since Darkheart was defeated either years ago, there hasn't been much that required our direct attention. I'm happy that humans are learning, I just wish that something would happen."  
  
Nobleheart Horse and Trueheart Bear were the founders and guardians of Care- A-Lot. They too wished for something that would make their antsy children happy.  
  
The star buddy flew in and told Harmony Bear the news. She instandly rose from her chair and said "Everyone, the star buddy said that the children are at the camp, and they want to see us again."  
  
The news shocked everyone in the room, but they were all very happy that John, Dawn, and Christy were coming to see them.  
  
"It's been so long, I can't wait" Cheer Bear stated  
  
"Wait, is Darkheart with them?" Briteheart Racoon asked.  
  
"Briteheart, you know he's not not darkheart anymore." said Nobleheart  
  
"I know but if he is with them we need to bring another cloud car, after all, four humans can't fit in just one."  
  
Friend Bear said "I'll go in one car and Swiftheart will go in the another"  
  
All were in agreement and the two left. The something that had all wanted to happen, just had.  
  
Chapter Three: Reunion  
  
The sun rose and it's ray's caused a golden glow throughout the camp site. The light moved directly into John's eyes, which unpleasantly awoke him. John looked at his friends and then his sister. Of the four, John was the most insecure, always in need of a shoulder to lean on. He was always seen with someone else and never felt comfortable in a crowd even with the others there with him. Ever since that summer he had always felt unsure about his own abilities, and while his meeting with the Care bear family helped boost his self-esteem it quickly went back down once the school year started up again. And soon he would leave his friends and his sister to enter a new place with new people. It was John's idea to pick a school that the others had not picked, he decided that if he was ever going to emerge from his shell he would need to do it alone. The very thought scared every fiber of John's being, but the decision was made, and for better or worse he would have to go through with it. John quietly and carefully left the tent to go for a walk by the lake in an effort to soothe his morbid feelings.  
  
After he put on his shoes something dawned upon John, they had put up camp in the spot that they had last seen the care bear family. John rarely thought of the first friends he ever made but he was always grateful for everything they had done for him and everyone else. He never told anyone about them and as far as he knew no one else had. John started to walk towards the lake but he heard a very familiar sound. John looked up and saw two cloud cars. He automatically thought 'Dawn was right, they did know, I wonder who came down'. John waved frantically but did not call out because he did not want to wake up the others who would still here him if he yelled. Friend and Swiftheart saw someone waving and automatically flew down to meet that person. They touched down on the ground and got out of their cars.  
  
"Friend Bear, is that you? It's been so long."  
  
"John! Yes, it's me, and Swiftheart is here too!"  
  
"Hi John, been far to long, it's so good to see you"  
  
John ran in a half dash to meet his friends  
  
Swiftheart said "You've gotten so much taller, and your voice has gotten deeper"  
  
"Yeah, one of those pesky things us humans have to go through, not easy I tell you, be thankful you guy's grow up really quick."  
  
They all laughed.  
  
Friend asked, "Where are the others? Everyone in Care-A-Lot is so anxious to see them."  
  
"They are all asleep at the camp site, right where you guys left in the cloud ship the last time we saw you."  
  
"Lets go get them, we'll drive you so you don't have to walk back" Swiftheart said  
  
When they got back to the camp site the others were all awake and in their day clothes. They were rather surprised to see cloud cars, but happy about it none the less.  
  
"Everyone, you remember Friend Bear and Swiftheart Rabbit right?" John asked "Well, while you guys get reacquainted I'll go change into a different outfit, I doubt going to Care-A-Lot in my pajama's would be in good taste" With that John walked into the tent  
  
Dawn looked at Swiftheart "Still crying a lot?"  
  
Swiftheart chuckled and said "The others found out that I was crying when I met you and your brother, they never did let me live that down, but I've gotten better"  
  
"That's good"  
  
Friend turned her head and noticed Darkheart "It's nice to see that your still with the people who helped make you human Darkheart"  
  
"Please, I don't go by Darkheart anymore, call me Dirk"  
  
"Oh, very well Dirk, it's very good to see you, you've grown into quite a handsome man"  
  
"Don't even try it Friend, he's mine" Christy jokingly snapped  
  
"You know I'm supposed to be everyone's friend, it's in the name after all"  
  
They all laughed and that brought John out  
  
"You guys laughing at me?"  
  
Swiftheart said "Of course not John"  
  
Dawn said "I can't wait till we see everyone else, I've missed them all so much"  
  
"Well, we aren't going to see anyone else just waiting around here, so lets go" Christy said  
  
And with that, they all left. Christy and Dirk went in Swiftheart's car and the twin's rode with Friend.  
  
Within minutes they were at Care-a-lot. Only Christy had never seen the kingdom and she was in awe of its sheer beauty, she wished she brought a camera, but the image would stay in her life for as long as she lived, and that was enough. Dirk, on the other hand, was having a hard time coming back, he had been there several times, but all of them were part of a plot to destroy it, and the animals who lived there. He reminded himself that the person that did that was not the person who he was now, and he grew more content with that. All the family was outside, awaiting their friends and when they saw the cars they all started to get excited. They all got out of the cloud cars and stood there in front of everyone.  
  
Friend said "Everyone say hi to John, Dawn, Christy, and Dirk"  
  
Dirk's name threw everyone off guard, and they all looked at the man that once imprisoned them in his cave.  
  
Maybe this wouldn't be so easy after all…  
  
Chapter Four: Confidence  
  
It was one of those moments that seemed like eternity and yet in reality only lasted a few seconds. Dirk looked at all the care family who in turn and stared at him, as if he was the only one there, Dirk could feel the beads of sweat running down his forehead.  
  
Finally Trueheart spoke "Well everyone, welcome back to Care-A-Lot. We've missed you so much since your last visit and are all so happy that you came to see us"  
  
"We are happy that you knew we wanted to talk to you, Care-A-Lot is so pretty" Christy said.  
  
"We really should go sit down somewhere, standing might be much fun" Cozyheart Penguin suggested  
  
"Well" Cheer said "the hall of hearts isn't really fit for visitors, but the castle is what we use for our social events so that would be the best place"  
  
They all walked towards the castle but Dirk walked behind the rest of them silently wondering if this really was a good idea. 'They don't trust me, I can see it in all their faces. But can I really blame them? I made sure that everything they tried to do would not work. I was so evil as Darkheart. I'm sure I wouldn't trust someone like me if I was in the place they are in. I can't believe I let the others talk me into this, I want to go home so bad. But I can't go home yet, not till I've talked to them, that's why I said yes to coming, its something I have to do'. Just then Dirk heard a very light noise that brought him back to reality. He looked and found that the noise came from Gentleheart lamb.  
  
"Dirk, you fell behind, everyone else is already at the castle"  
  
"Why did they send someone to get me? Aren't you all still frightened of the person I was? And in turn, doesn't that make you distrust me"  
  
"Well, you're our guest, and I wouldn't be nice to just leave you while everyone else was having a good time. And of course we are still frightened of Darkheart, he came close to killing us and ruining the earth, taking away everything we hold dear, but we know your not that person anymore. Just give us some time, we haven't seen any of you since that day and never really did check up on you much, so we didn't see how well you adjusted to being just a normal human boy.  
  
"Why did you come and get me Gentleheart, you seem to be the one that would be afraid of me more then any of the others"  
  
"Well, that's true, but I can see that any evil you once had in your being has been purged. That's a gift that I have that none of the other's have. Besides, your Dirk now, Darkheart is gone for good."  
  
"Thank you Gentleheart, you've made me feel so much better about this whole situation"  
  
"No problem, now lets go to the castle"  
  
"Lead the way"  
  
And with that A more confident boy came closer to reaching the goal he set out to do.  
  
Chapter Five: Request  
  
Everyone else was already in the castle chatting with each other. Dawn had struck up a conversation with Tenderheart.  
  
"So Dawn, what brings you to Care-A-Lot after all these years?"  
  
"Well we all felt that we should thank you for brining us together before we… went our separate ways"  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"This is our last summer together before we all leave for different Universities in the country, so we all felt that we should thank the people who brought us together, you guys"  
  
"That's very nice of you Dawn, I'm sure the others will feel the same when they find out that you came up here just to thank us. And even more happy when they find out that you four will soon go to college, that's so exciting"  
  
"Exciting… if you say so Tenderheart"  
  
"You're not in the least bit looking forward to going to college Dawn? It's a whole new world after all"  
  
"Its not that I'm not excited, I am. But I also don't want to leave my friends, especially my brother. I'm scared that he won't make it without any of us there, he's so shy and always keeps to himself unless we force him to be social"  
  
"I'm sure John will be fine without any of you Dawn. He's over there talking to Braveheart and Birthday bear right now, and none of you are with him"  
  
"I really hope your right about that Tenderheart, I do"  
  
"I have a feeling I am Dawn"  
  
As the two continued the conversation they were having Dirk and Gentleheart walked in, this time everyone was preoccupied so no one stared at Dirk and that made him feel better. Dirk and Gentleheart parted ways and Dirk walked over to Christy, who was talking with Share bear.  
  
Share was the first to notice Dirk, "There you are. What happened, did you get lost?"  
  
"In thought yeah. Sorry if I made anybody worry"  
  
"Its okay, well, I'll leave you two too talk amongst yourself" And with that Share bear left  
  
"How you doing Christy?"  
  
"Fine, although I was a little concerned about you. Are you doing better now?"  
  
"Yeah, Gentleheart talked to me and I feel a whole lot better about myself. Well, don't you think we should let everyone know exactly why we are here?"  
  
"Do you want to tell them?"  
  
"Maybe you should do it, just as a precaution"  
  
"Let's go get the others then" They left to go get John and Dawn  
  
After the four were gathered together Christy spoke.  
  
"If I could please have everyone's attention. As you know, we met you all eight years ago, and because of that meeting we created Dirk after defeating his former persona of Darkheart. What you may not know is why we are here. When we met Dirk our friendship strengthened considerably. The four of us have been best friends ever since, but earlier this summer we graduated from High School, and soon we will all leave for different colleges. We all decided to pay our thanks to all of you, who made this friendship, happen, before we all went our separate ways. So from all of us to all of you, thank you from to bottom of our hearts"  
  
After Christy finished her speech cheer's broke out from all in attendance. It was at this time that Dirk realized his chance to talk to them would not get any better. Dirk walked through the crowd thanking all those who congratulated him as he walked towards Nobleheart and Trueheart, when Dirk reached them he said  
  
"Can we please talk?"  
  
Chapter Six: Atonement  
  
The two eldest and wisest members of the family were not surprised by Dirk's request in fact they were expecting it.  
  
"Of course, come with us, we'll take a boat and talk while rowing around the river" said Nobleheart  
  
The three of them left immediately, fortunately all the others were still talking to John, Dawn, and Christy so no one noticed their exit. After they took the boat and were a considerable distance out in the water Trueheart asked  
  
"So, what did you want to talk about?"  
  
"I wanted to ask you for your… forgiveness"  
  
"For what?"  
  
"You know exactly why, for all the pain I put you through as Darkheart"  
  
Nobleheart said " Dirk, you don't need to ask us for forgiveness, we knew as soon as the evil your soul contained disappeared that Darkheart was gone for good."  
  
"Nobleheart's right, as far as we are concerned, you've done nothing to which a request for forgiveness would be needed"  
  
Dirk was fighting back tears, which startled the two  
  
"Please, I need your forgiveness, every day for the last eight year's I've been haunted by everything I did when I was Darkheart. Your forgiveness is the only thing that can calm that part of my ego forever, I beg of you. I did horrid things as that thing, I almost killed you and all the others several times. And… I almost killed… Christy"  
  
"You love her don't you?" Asked Trueheart  
  
"With all my heart, she saved my life when I hit my head and almost drown, for that I will be eternally grateful"  
  
Dirk thought about it for a moment  
  
"Maybe that's the problem… It's not you who I need to ask for forgiveness its her. The guilt I've been feeling has a little to do with what I did to you, but the majority of why my memories haunt me so was because I almost killed the woman I love more then anything. She taught me how to be human, and how to do other stuff"  
  
"Like a cartwheel!" said Nobleheart  
  
Dirk smiled  
  
"Yes, like a cartwheel. I really want to thank you two for helping me realize what was really making me feel so bad. But I really do feel awful for everything I did to you and your children"  
  
"Like Nobleheart said before, you don't need to apologize, we know you're sorry"  
  
"But there's something we haven't told you and the other's, and we really should"  
  
"What is it Trueheart?" asked Dirk  
  
"We'll tell you when we get back, now then, lets head back to the castle"  
  
And with that the three started back to the castle.  
  
Chapter Seven: Farewell  
  
When everyone had quieted down Nobleheart and Trueheart spoke to the gathered crowd. Nobleheart spoke first  
  
"First off, we both would like to thank our friends John, Dawn, Christy, and Dirk, for coming all the way up from Earth just to thank us for doing something we really had little to do with"  
  
Trueheart said "After all, while Darkheart was created to eliminate everything good and kind in the world, it was only when he realized that he cared deeply for someone that Darkheart was purged from the universe. And for that, we would like to give our thanks to John, Dawn, and especially Christy, you three are the real heroes, and the world will never know how much they owe to you.  
  
Nobleheart continued to speak "We know how hard it will be for the four of you to part ways later on in the summer, but we want to present you with some gifts that will hopefully make the transition easier. First, please know that Care-A-Lot and all who reside here will always be here for you"  
  
"If you ever wish to visit, or want one of us to come talk to you, these little star buddies will come tell us and we will send someone to help with your request. In short, if you simply need a friend, we are always available to fill the void. Also, if you all ever want to get together because you miss each other, we will make it happen. These are our presents to you, use them to your liking and remember that we love you all"  
  
Four little star buddies came to the shoulders of the four  
  
"These are yours, always and forever. Now, it's getting late on Earth and if you want to get back tonight we need to say farewell, but only for now"  
  
Everyone said goodbye and that they would see everyone again, and with that John, Dawn, Christy, and Dirk left Care-A-Lot, escorted by Swiftheart and Friend back down to Earth. After thanking those two again and waving as they traveled into the distant space they began to pack. But not before they did one last thing  
  
"Hey Christy, wanna play some marbles?" asked John  
  
"John, nothings changed since we were kids, I'm still the marble champ"  
  
"We will just see about that Christy" said Dawn  
  
"Wait everyone, before we start, I have something to tell Christy. Christy, Nobleheart and Trueheart helped me realize something, the reason why I felt guilt over what I did as Darkheart was because of when I hurt you in my rage. They helped me realize that… I love you Christy. Can you ever forgive me for hurting you?"  
  
"Of course I forgive you Dirk, and I want you to know that I love you too"  
  
The two embraced and with that they played marbles for the last time.  
  
After they finished the game of marbles they packed up and left the spot where they forged their unbreakable friendship. And unbeknownst to them they were being watched by the Care Bear Family, who cared for each of them very much. After all, caring is what they did best.  
  
THE END 


End file.
